Mischief Managed
by thekatthatbarks
Summary: Sakura and Shikamaru sneaking around the castle so they don't get caught after curfew. Harry Potter AU.


Another pink strand of Sakura's hair had slipped from her ponytail and into her eyes. She sighed and tore her eyes away from her book regretfully to fix her hair. When she leaned back and took her hair down only to put it back up, she glanced out the window expecting to see light blue sky but only saw the darkness. Her eyes widened and she stood up from her place on the floor where she had been propped up against a bookcase. She peaked her head out into the aisle of bookshelves but saw no one and realized how quiet it was. Even for a library it was eerily silent. Then, she noticed outside of her lantern there was no other light.

Feeling a small panic rising in her chest, she cast a quick _Tempus_ charm which told her it was well after curfew. _How had she lost track of time that badly?_ She could have sworn Naruto had just left to play quidditch not even an hour ago. It wasn't just that she was out past curfew, but she had also spent a good part of the day piffling through the restricted section. She'd already been caught once and to get caught against especially at this time, the headmistress would have her head. She may not be in _Ravenclaw_ , but that didn't mean she wasn't going to do what she needed to finish her research. _She was a Syltherin after all_. Sakura wasn't even worried about her NEWTS anymore, instead doing research for some medical potions she thought would give her an edge as a healer. It wasn't her fault that all the good books to do said research from where restricted.

She quickly blew out her candle after having her book float back to where it went. She whispered a quiet _Lumos_ and flicked her wand, letting the dim light guide her as she quietly snuck towards the doors of the library. She didn't think she'd get in too much trouble if she got caught, but she didn't want to risk it especially when she was almost finished with her seventh year. Naruto had already gotten her in enough trouble over the year and she didn't want to give anyone a reason to stick her in detention for the remainder of the year when she could be working on her potions.

She was edging near the door when she tripped over something – _someone_. She fought back a curse at the pain in her ankle from the fall and waved her wand at the lump of a human on the floor. She glared when she recognized the spiky hair and kicked him hard in the stomach.

Shikamaru woke up groggily, his hand going to his stomach with a twist of pain etched on his face as he sat up. When his eyes landed on Sakura, he narrowed them and said loudly, "What's your problem, Haruno?"

Sakura's glare darkened and she shot across to him to cover his mouth with her hand. " _Shut up_ , you moron. Do you want to get caught?"

As thought her question had summoned him, she heard a voice from the hall. "Did you hear that Mrs. Norris? Sounds like someone's out of bed, eh?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked back to Shikamaru who looked like he was finally noticing how late it was. When the heavy handle on the door from outside creaked as it was picked up, Sakura grabbed Shikamaru by his robes and pulled him back to her to hide behind a small bookcase. She quickly whispered, " _Nox_ ," and tucked her wand away. She didn't meet his eyes as they inched towards the shadows as the door opened and light seeped into the darkness. Her hand was still clutched in his robes, pulling him along like he was a disobedient child.

Filch raised his lantern as he stepped into the room, looking their way and narrowly missing them as they ducked behind another bookshelf. Sakura listened as he walked further in, grumbling under his breath with that damn cat following after him and his heavy boots probably mucking up the clean floors. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was so distracted she didn't realize how close she was to Shikamaru, practically pressed up against him in their hiding place. She felt herself blush as she looked up to meet his eyes and saw his lazy smirk. She looked away, hoping he couldn't see her red cheeks in the dark. She went to release the hold she had on his robes and then he covered her hand with his. He brought their hands down to his side and interlocked their fingers as he peeked around the bookcase. Filch was now near the back of the restricted section and Sakura eyed the doors warily, trying to ignore her racing heart that had nothing to do with Filch.

Shikamaru looked back down at her and mouthed, "Trust me?"

She nodded and a second later he was leading her to the doors, keeping his eye on the small light from Filch's lantern that was only a dozen paces away. When they reached the doors, Shikamaru tried to open them as quietly as he could, but they were old and heavy and the hinges creaked loudly throughout the room. He barely had enough time to pull Sakura through the small opening before Filch had spun around.

Sakura looked around frantically down the long corridors outside knowing they wouldn't be able to make it to the corner before Filch caught up to them. Before she could panic, Shikamaru tugged on her and pulled her into a small broom closet she hadn't even noticed was there. They heard Filch yelling into the hall just as the door closed shut. They waited with a baited breath as he passed by and Sakura felt Shikamaru tighten his hold on her waist. _Since when was he holding her?_ She almost sprung away from him when she realized how intimate they must look, but stopped herself worrying she'd knock something over in the small closet.

Sakura thought they were in the clear, but then saw a small shadow stop in front of the crack in the door. _Damn cat._ She glared at the shadow, hoping the cat would feel the negative energy and run off ( _as ridiculous as she knew that sounded_ ). The seconds seemed to last forever, but eventually Mrs. Norris bounded away from the door. Sakura sighed in relief as the last footsteps of Filch died off.

But when she made a move for the door, Shikamaru reached out and caught her hand. "We should probably wait a bit before we leave just to make it safe."

Sakura nodded and stepped out of his hold as casually as she could manage without it looking like his closeness had affected her. Seeing his knowing smile, though, she knew better that to think she'd succeeded. She huffed and asked him in a quiet voice, "What were you doing in the library that late, anyway?"

He shrugged and leaned against the wall. "Sleeping."

Sakura snorted. _What a surprise._ She raised an eyebrow at him. "And why can't you do that in your room?"

He sighed. "I can never get a moment to myself in the tower. Someone's always pestering me and asking me to help them study or something."

Sakura knew how that felt but didn't think it justified sleeping in sleeping in _random_ places. She didn't say anything in response and he asked her, "Let me guess, you were studying, weren't you? Loss track of time?"

She felt another flick of irritation but this time at herself for being so easy to read and transparent. A small voice told her it was just because he _knew her so well_ but she swatted the thought away and crossed her arms over her chest. "There were some books I needed for my research in the restricted section. I couldn't very well go looking for them during the day, now could I? I just didn't notice it had gotten so late."

"Sounds like you," he replied in that lazy warm tone of his. Sakura tried not to think of how the sound of his voice made a warmth wash over her.

When she didn't reply again, he sighed and closed the distance between them, tugging gently on her arms so she'd uncross them. She let him but looked up at him with narrowed eyes and started in a warning tone, "Shikamaru – "

"You've been avoiding me. Why?" he asked her bluntly.

Sakura fought down a blush and stepped back. "Have not."

He took a step towards her and she stepped back again only for her back to hit the wall. He followed after her and leaned over her with his hand resting on the wall next to her head. She tried to look away but then he pinched her chin and turned her face up to look at him. She wasn't able to fight down her blush this time when she met his eyes.

"Yes, you have," he argued with her in a soft voice, "Why?"

"It's stupid," she muttered, her eyes looking to the side.

"Obviously, it isn't if it's making you ignore me. What did I do?"

Sakura felt her resolve crack and she slumped against the wall. She closed her eyes and whispered into the dusty closet, "I _like_ you, okay?"

She didn't have to open her eyes to see his surprise, she could hear it in his voice when he spluttered, "What? But –"

She cut him off before he could say anything, she could practically hear her heart pounding in her ears. "So, I thought if I just distanced myself from you, I'd get over it. I mean, we only have a couple months left."

Shikamaru was quiet for a moment and then he asked in a soft voice, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Sakura opened her eyes and laughed lightly. She could feel a sinking dread in her stomach twisting every which way. "There's a reason I'm not in Gryffindor, Shika. Not brave enough to put my heart out there to just get rejected."

Shikamaru shook his head at her and moved his hand to her cheek. He raised an eyebrow at her and leaned only a couple inches away. "Yeah? What makes you think I'd reject you?"

Sakura's breath caught but before she could reply, Shikamaru had closed the distance between them and kissed her on the lips. All of Sakura's reasons and insectaries crumbled to dust as she kissed him back. That dread in her stomach burning away with the sudden warmth that was rushing through her. Shikamaru was pressed against her as their lips moved with each other. A broom fell to their left, but she was far too distracted to worry if it would give them away. She had a hand gripping at the front of Shikamaru's robes and another entangled in his hair. It felt like there was nothing else besides him in that moment.

Sakura didn't know how long they had been kissing for before the door was suddenly swung open. Their heads jerked towards it in panic but instead of Filch standing there it was Naruto. He looked at them in surprise, a smile growing on his face as he spoke, "Ino's been pestering the Fat Lady for the past hour, because she thought you were with me in the Gryffindor Tower since you hadn't come back to your room. When she finally let her in, I told her you weren't and she got worried so I came looking for you."

Shikamaru was the first to get over his embarrassment and asked, "How'd you even find us?"

Naruto cocked a grin at him and held up that bloody map of his. Then, he shrugged. He told them in a sly tone, "But I'll let Ino know you're in good hands, Sakura-chan. Good night, guys!" and with that he closed the door.

Naruto chuckled and tapped his wand to the map before walking away. " _Mischief managed_."


End file.
